Call for Papers

Africa Conference on Economic Costs of Disasters (ACECD 2017)

The Role of the Private Sector in Disaster Risk Reduction

 Pretoria, South Africa on 23 – 25 October, 2017

The Africa Conference on Economic Costs of Disasters with a focus on the Role of the
Private Sector in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), will take place in Pretoria, South Africa on 23
– 25 October, 2017. It will be the first continental conference to focus exclusively on the
active involvement of the private sector in DRR. This high-level platform will bring together
decision-makers from both the private and public sectors – including industry leaders, entrepreneurs,
practitioners, scientists, national and local government officials, environment and development
economists, academia, civil society organisations and other stakeholder groups – to discuss the current
and future economic impacts of disasters on the African continent. This conference will further explore
best practices and approaches for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector for
DRR, building resilience and contribution to the seventeen Development Goals (SDG) of the Agenda
2030 and towards Agenda 2063 in Africa.

The conference though carefully examines the significant role of the private sector and its investment in Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery. It further serves as a platform for governments to discuss the best partnership approaches with private sector companies. It also offers an opportunity for Non-Governmental Organisations to interact with both government and private sector stakeholders and to explore opportunities and synergies. In addition, this conference is expected to inform the future direction on implementation of the Sendai Framework as well as strategies on how the private sector can actively invest in DRR in order to reduce economic losses and help build a more resilient Africa.

The sub-themes of the conference focus on the four priorities of action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) with emphasis onthe opportunities for contribution. Areas of intervention will be broken down according to industries and linked to the Sendai priorities namely:

• Priority 1: Understanding disaster risk;
• Priority 2: Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk;
• Priority 3: Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience;
• Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Private sector industries which have been identified include, but are not limited to:

• Banking  and  Finance;
• Insurance;
• Urban  Resilience ;
• Specialised  Service  Providers;
• Information  Technology  and  Telecommunications;
• Education;
• Construction;
• Mining;
• Food  Technology
• Manufacturing;
• Retail;
• Logistics;
• Agriculture;
• Health;
• Pharmaceutical;  and
• Water,  Sanitation  and  Hygiene  (WASH).

We invite interested professionals such as academics, higher education students, practitioners and decision-makers across the African continent and beyond to submit papers on topics of their choice that consider how best to involve the private sector in DRR focusing on the four priorities of the SFDRR and the possible topics provided below.

Possible topics to focus on include:

• Investing in DRR to better understand Disaster Risk
• Encouraging the development of innovative products and services to enhance DRR?
• Reducing disaster related economic losses and building resilience in the Health sector
• Study on the economic impacts of food quality losses
• Ensuring the mainstreaming of age, gender and disability in DRR
• Costs and solutions to climate-related migration
• DRR public investment
• Reducing disaster related economic losses and building resilience in the Agricultural sector
• Disaster risk finance mechanisms and approaches in Africa
• Strengthening disaster risk governance through the promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in DRR
• Finding new innovative ways of investing in disaster risk for resilience: by involving the banking, finance, accounting and insurance firms
• Building resilient cities and infrastructurefor the African continent
• Climate risk insurance mechanisms at Macro, Meso, and Micro
• Promoting risk-sensitive investments for building resilience
• Safeguarding the livelihoods of vulnerable people and communities through micro-finance
  initiatives
• Enhancing disaster preparedness through investing in “Building Back Better”

How to Submit your Abstract

1. Abstracts should be submitted electronically to the conference website or to the conference administration at info@gravitazzci.org or to the ACECD 2017 Coordinator at lonje@gravitazzci.org.

2. Languages of abstract submission: English and French

3. Timeline

Opening date for submission of abstract: 9 February, 2017
Last day for submission of abstract: 15 April, 2017 (midnight)
Final notice of approval of abstracts: 15 May, 2017
Deadline for submission of full papers: 30 July, 2017 (midnight)
Conference dates: 23-25 October, 2017

4. The selection of papers shall be based on the abstracts submitted; presenters will be notified
whether they have been successful by 15 th May 2017.

5. The full paper is due on 30 th July 2017 and must be an original submission not presented or
published elsewhere.

6. Papers should be no more than 4,000 words, single spaced in Times New Roman 12 point.

7. For selected papers, 15 minutes will be allowed for a summary delivery of the paper during the
Conference.

8. The author(s) should indicate his/her personal full contact details and include a brief biographical
note with the paper (based on the template attached).

9. A number of papers will be selected for publication in a journal at the end of the conference.

10. A Scientific Committee has been established, which will peer review the papers submitted and
provide expert advice to ACECD.

Selection

Full abstracts (300 words) should be prepared following the template provided below. Each abstract will
be blind reviewed by members of the ACECD 2017 SteeringCommittee.

Abbreviated abstracts or late submissions will not be considered.

Purpose of this paper: What are the objectives of the research?
Theme: How does it relate to the theme of the conference?
Design/methodology/approach: How are the objectives achieved? Include the main method(s) used for the study. What is the approach to the topic, and what is the
theoretical or subject scope of the paper?
Findings (if applicable): What was found in the course of the work? This will refer to analysis, discussion, or results. (Preliminary findings, or Research Hypotheses , if research is still underway)
Practical implications (if applicable): What outcomes and implications for practice, applications and consequences are identified? All papers should have practical applications. What changes to practice might be made as a result of this research/paper?
What is original/value of paper:  What is new in the paper? State the added value of the paper and to whom.

We are looking forward to receiving your abstracts and welcoming you to ACECD 2017 in October. As
we receive your papers and collate the research, we will finalise the conference programme and
communicate accordingly.
Should you have any questions in the meantime, do not hesitate to write to the conference
administration at info@gravitazzci.org and to the Conference Coordinator (lonje@gravitazzci.org) and to
CC the Conference Scientific Advisor (jessica@gravitazzcontinental.com).

STEERING COMMITTEE: Ms. Kehinde Balogun, Prof. Justice Nchunu, Ms. Beatriz López- Fanjul Diez del Corral, Dr. Wilfred Lunga, Mr. Millan Atam, Ms. Vilma Hossini, Dr. Ololade Dosunmu, Mr. Dehougnam Ahokpossi, Dr Audrey Cash, Miss Zanele M’Cwabeni, Dr Bibhuti Gadnayak, Mr Joseph Balikuddembe, Dr Elias Sithole

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